单选题 Questions 62 to 66 are based on the following passage.
Under the gold standard, paper money was backed by gold reserves. If gold flowed into a country, its money and credit supply were supposed to expand. If gold flowed out, money and credit were supposed to contract. During World War I, Europe's governments suspended the gold standard. They financed the war with paper money and loans from America. The appeal of restoring the gold standard was that it would instill confidence by making paper money trustworthy.
Unfortunately, the war damaged the system beyond repair. Britain, the key country, was left with only 7. 5 of the world's gold reserves in 1925. Together, the United States and France held more than half the world's gold. The war had expanded U. S. reserves, and when France returned to gold, it did so with an undervalued exchange rate that boosted exports and gold reserves. Meanwhile, German reparations (赔款) to Britain and France were massive, while those countries owed huge amounts to the United States. The global financial system was so debt-laden that it "cracked at the first pressure. "
That came after a rise in American interest rates in 1928 forced other countries to follow and ultimately led to the 1929 stock market crash. As economies weakened, debts went into default. Bank panics ensued. Credit and industrial production declined. Unemployment rose. Weakness fed on weakness.
Sadly, this tragedy has modern parallels. Like the 1930s, a worldwide credit collapse is a danger. Global stock, bond and bank markets are interwoven. Losses in one may prompt pullbacks in others. Money that flows to 28 "emerging market" countries in 2009 will drop 80 percent from 2007 levels. Currency misalignments have, as in the 1920s, distorted trade. China's Renminbi is clearly undervalued.
Still, striking differences separate now from then. The biggest is that governments--unencumbered by the gold standard--have eased credit, propped up financial institutions and increased spending to arrest an economic free fall. The Federal Reserve and the International Monetary Fund have made loans available to emerging market countries to offset the loss of private credit. Nor is there anything like the international rancor (怨恨) that followed World War I and impeded (妨碍) cooperation: in 1931, the French balked at (回避) rescuing Austria's biggest bank (Credit Anstalt), whose failure triggered a chain reaction of European panics.
When countries left the gold standard--the United States effectively did so in 1933--their economies began to recover. Some indicators now imply that the present decline is ebbing. China shows similar signs of improvement.
单选题 What is the relationship between gold flowing and money and credit supply?
  • A. Suspend and contract.
  • B. The change of gold flowing affects money and credit supply.
  • C. More gold flowing in more money and credit supply contract.
  • D. More gold flowing out more money and credit supply expand.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 语义理解题。根据题干关键词gold flowing，money and credit supply定位到第一段第二，三句：If gold flowed into a country, its money and credit supply were supposed to expand. If gold flowed out, money and credit were supposed to contract. 由此可知当黄金流入一个国家时，该国的货币和信贷供应就会扩张，反之亦然。即黄金的流动影响着货币和信贷。因此选项B)符合文意，应为正确答案。 [避错指导] 选项A)之所以不对的原因是，只给出了结果，没提供前提条件；选项C)和D)中所提及的相互关系与原文所表达的意思不一致，因此也不正确。
单选题 From the passage we can infer that ______.
  • A. British paper money was once not trustworthy enough
  • B. United States and France are the debtors of Britain
  • C.before World War I, Britain held more world gold reserve than that in 1925
  • D.Britain helped some European countries to expand US gold reserve
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 推理判断题。根据选项中的关键信息Britain，gold reserve定位到第二段第二句：Britain，the key country，was left with only 7.5 of the world's gold reserves in 1925. 即1925年英国的黄金储备份额只有世界黄金储备份额的7.5%，由此可以推知英国在那一年所拥有的份额远远少于以前的拥有量。因此选项C)符合文意，应为正确答案。 [避错指导] A)项没有依据；由第二段中German reparations (赔款) to Britain and France were massive，while those countries owed huge amounts to the United States可知美国是英法的债权国，因此B)选项错误；由第二段中The war had expanded U. S. reserves可知D)选项错误。
单选题 Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
  • A.It was the increase of American interest rates in 1928 that caused a negative effect across the world.
  • B.It was the triangle debt among German, Britain, France, etc. that cracked the global financial system.
  • C.Global stock, bond and bank market are inter-related with each other and mutually affected.
  • D. United States effectively left the gold standard in 1933.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 事实细节题。根据选项中的France Britain German定位到第二句倒数第二句：Meanwhile， German reparations to Britain and France were massive，while those countries owed huge amounts to the United states．可知德、英、法、美之间的债务关系显然属于三角性质。不过文章到此为止只是说明了这些国家的债务关系，并没有说明是否因此使全球的金融体系崩溃。因此选项B)不符合原文，故选B)。 [避错指导] 选项A)中所提及的内容在第三段第一句中提及；选项C)中所提及的内容在第四段第二、三句中提及；选项D)中所涉及的内容在最后一段第一句中提及。
单选题 What does the sentence "Sadly, this tragedy has modern parallels. " in Para. 4 mean?
  • A. The global financial trouble happened in the past is quite similar with what is happening now.
  • B. Global financial tragedies would often happen in pairs all at the same time.
  • C. Global financial tragedies would often happen one after another.
  • D. Global financial tragedies happening now are overshadowed by natural disasters.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 语义理解题。根据题干关键词Paia. 4定位到第四段。该句实际上在文中起着一个承上启下的作应。此句的上一段落主要讲述的是全球金融问题在世界范围内所引发的连锁反应，而该句子所在段落中的后文则以实例重申说明目前所发生的全球性金融危机与过去所发生金融危机十分相似。因此选项A)为正确答案。 [避错指导] 该句意在将过去发生的危机与现在面临的危机作比较，而不是发生在同一时代的两个危机，故B)错误；这一句强调的是危机之间的相似性，而非间隔时间的长短，故排除C)；D)中提到的自然灾害在文中没有文字依据，属于无关信息，因此排除。
单选题 Which of the following should be considered as the most suitable title for this passage?
  • A. The importance of the gold standard.
  • B. Mutual effect in the frame of global financial system.
  • C. The relationship between gold reserve and money supply.
  • D. Gold standard and global financial order.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 主旨大意题。本文首先讲述了黄金流动在各国金融方面所产生的影响，随后又列举了大量的历史实例来说明在全球框架内国与国之间的债务问题对全球金融体制所造成的负面影响及由此而产生的连锁反应，随后又从历史的层面转到2009年国际金融危机时各国所遭遇的连锁反应。由此可以得知，本文主要论述的是全球金融体制中各国的相互影响。因此选项B)应为正确答案。 [避错指导] 文章中出现了A)中提到的“金本位制”，并阐述了其历史影响，但其属于对于历史上金融危机的陈述，并不能概括全文；C)“黄金储备和货币供应量的关系”是文章第一段的细节内容，故排除；D)中的“金本位制”和“国际金融秩序”都是文章重要内容的组成部分，但纵观全文，其主要内容是金融危机中各种成分的相互影响，远不止这两个内容，因此排除该项。